Compound Interest on Actions

I listen to professional development CD's all the time. I admit it I'm addicted.
I have a Life Coach (Some time I will write about this wonderful person and fabulous concept) This week she gave me a book on CD by Jeff Olson called "Slight Edge"

The preface alone was a WHOA experience. Stopped me dead in my tracks and I rewound it a couple times to take it all in.

Short version of first AHA moment:

Every action we take, good or bad doesn't change our life immediately but it is like compound interest, over time it's effect snowballs into life-altering concequences.
I thought about how we saved pitifully little in our IRAs when we were just out of college but over (and I'm not saying how many) years it has compounded and I'm amazed at where that little bit is today.

Jeff Olson says (loosely quoted) "Its easy to exercise 30 minutes a day. It's easy not to as well. But the NOT exercising decision compounded over 1 year, five years, thirty years and you have a really bad health outcome. Making the choice TO take a few minutes a day to exercise is not hard, but compounded over time produces a healthy body and life"

Think about that. You don't get unhealthy with the one cheeseburger, but that same poor food choice made repetitively over years is why we have an obese population in America. It isn't that we don't know that we should eat more healthy food, or that it is harder to make better choices. Just think what would happen if we compounded the positive effect of exercise and correct food choices!
I recommend this book "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson.

I'll post some other profound stuff he shares later.
When I do my motivation teleseminar series, I want to interview THIS guy.